What are Blockchain Explorers?

The building blocks of a blockchain network is data and record-keeping is one of their core functions. All the transactions and activities that takes place on a blockchain are properly recorded for immutability. Blockchain Explorers are websites (or web applications) that enables us to get access to a reliable historical record. Since many blockchain users are not software developers or do not have the time to scan the blockchain network by using a computer’s terminal, explorers like these are great for helping out in an easy way to visualize these data and their activities.  

Etherscan: ETH's Explorer

The most popular blockchain protocol that can be used to build decentralized applications is Ethereum. This indirectly shows that the most commonly used explorer should be on this blockchain too. That is true and the name is Etherscan. 

Another popular scanner based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine is BscScan, built for the Binance Smart Chain network. (Other notable mentions are AvaScan from Avalanche and Ftmscan from Fantom). 

Solscan Walkthrough

Just like other blockchain protocols are properly equipped with their own explorers, Solana also has explorers built for its own data visualization and analytics. Examples of some explorers available for Solana users are SolanaBeach and the native Solana explorer built directly by Solana. (You can also build your own explorer too… if you are capable). 

There are some concepts I would like to break into sections so you can understand what they mean and how they work.

Accounts

Accounts on Solana can be compared to traditional bank account that can be created by a user so as to be able to make transactions with other users and their accounts. The same is true for Accounts on Solana, just that one is decentralized and censorship-resistant while the other is not. 

With these accounts, a user receives with their private and public keys that are non-custodial (that is, access to the account is only possible by the owner and its not an exchange wallet). Your private key is personal to you and must not be shared with anyone while your public key is your wallet address that can be used to receive cryptocurrency tokens and other digital assets like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) developed on the Solana blockchain network. 

As shown in the image below, by pasting the public address of your Solana wallet, the Solscan tool will display the information on that account. (The records shown are explained later in this article).

Blockchain Section

Under this section of Solscan explorer, there are two categories – Transactions and Blocks. In the Transactions category, there are different records as shown below

From the tables displayed above, we have the following:

• Signature: Just like in a traditional bank format where a user “Signs” to approve a financial transaction, a Signature is a record that guarantees that a transaction was made by a certain account and the transaction can be traced through this signature.
• Block: A contiguous set of entries on the ledger. This is a list of voted entries into ordered sections on the blockchain network. (Solana creates a new block every 400ms)
• Time: This is a record of every timestamp for any transaction performed on the blockchain. 
• Instructions: There are different types of Instructions that can be performed with an account on Solana. The instruction type is included in this table.   
• By: This represents the public address of the account that is running a program or making a transaction. 
• Fee: This is the amount of SOL paid by the account performing the transaction.

In the Blocks section, the records displayed have to do with the records on the Solana blockchain itself. The Blocks section contains the following types of records:

• Block Hash: This is a unique value (or hash) that identifies a record (block) on the network
• Slot: The period of time for which each leader ingests transactions and produces a block.
• Time: This is a record of every timestamp for any transaction performed on the blockchain. 
• Tx Count: This is a record of all the transactions that occurred in the Block Slot at that particular time. 
• Leader: This is the role of a validator when it is appending entries to the network protocol.
• Reward (SOL): This is the amount of SOL received by the Validator node (e.g., Soladex)

Tokens

In this section of the Solscan explorer, you can view almost all the Solana spl token that are legit on the Solana blockchain network. 

These tokens are arranged in the order of their fully diluted market cap. The Wrapped SOL token has over 24,300 holders and with price of $171.39 per SOL, it has the highest market capitalization in the ecosystem.

Solscan also shows the 24-Hour and 7-Day price action of the token in view.

NFTs

The Solscan also has the NFT section for users to easily view collections available. Click the “All NFTs” to see the NFTs being traded on the blockchain. You can sort it using different metrics.  

In the Collections, NFTs are ranked according to the volume of SOL traded on that collection. As at the time of this writing, Okay Bears is the trending NFT on the chain. 

To see the NFTs that have been traded recently, check “Trades” and you will also get to see their costs, Buyers’ address and the time they got sold. 

In this “New NFTs” section, all the NFTs that are just being minted on the Solana blockchain are displayed with their minting details shown when selected.

After selecting the NFT with the name “VS | COMMEMORATIVE #Y1-3023”, a new page showing you the details concerning the NFT like the website, its royalty, the mint authority etc. will be displayed.

Resources

The Solscan application provides developers with tools needed for querying the Solana blockchain. There is also a page of documentation that explains in detail the process and actions involved in the transactions and activities of the network.

Useful Links

Solscan: https://solscan.io/

Documentation: https://docs.solscan.io/

Public APIs: https://public-api.solscan.io/docs/#/